A SOCIAL  SERVICE  CATECHISM 


Prepared  by 

THE  COMMISSION  ON  THE  CHURCH 
AND  SOCIAL  SERVICE 

of  the 

Federal  Council  of  the  Churches  of  Christ  in  America 


NATIONAL  OFFICES 
612  United  Charities  Building 
106  East  22nd  Street 
New  York. 


This  Catechism  was  prepared  by  a Committee  of  the  Federal 
Council  Commission,  consisting  of  Samuel  Z.  Batten, 
Walter  Rauschenbusch,  Jacob  Riis,  Geabam  Taylor, 
Harry  F.  Ward,  Charles  S.  Macfarland. 

It  is  based,  in  the  main,  on  the  original  Social  Service  Cate- 
chism prepared  for  the  Social  Service  Commission  of  the 
Northern  Baptist  Convention,  adapted  for  interdenominational 
use. 


A Social  Service  Catechism 


1.  What  is  Social  Service? 

Social  Service  is  that  form  of  effort  for 
man’s  redemption  which  seeks  to  uplift  and 
transform  his  associated  and  community  life. 
As  such  it  is  the  social  application  of  Chris- 
tian principles,  and  is  a new  name  for  that 
spirit  of  philanthropy  and  service  which  is  as 
old  as  Christianity. 

2.  Why  do  you  call  it  Social  Service? 

Because  it  deals  with  man  as  a social  being 

in  his  social  relations,  and  with  social  causes 
and  conditions ; because  it  demands  social  and 
collective  action,  and  seeks  not  only  to  save 
men  but  to  embody  their  Christian  life  in  so- 
cial institutions. 

3.  What  warrant  is  there  for  social  service 
in  the  Scriptures? 

Jesus  said,  “The  Spirit  of  the  Lord  God  is 
upon  me,  because  he  anointed  me  to  preach 
good  tidings  to  the  poor : He  hath  sent  me 
to  proclaim  release  to  the  captives,  and  re- 
covering of  sight  to  the  blind,  to  set  at  lib- 
erty them  that  are  bruised,  to  proclaim  the 
acceptable  year  of  the  Lord.” 

Above  all  is  the  example  of  Jesus  himself, 
who  went  about  doing  good,  helping  the  needy, 
adjusting  the  relations  of  men,  and  seeking  to 
establish  justice  among  men. 


4.  What  is  the  fundamental  idea  of  social 
service  ? 

The  idea  of  the  kingdom  of  God,  which  in 
the  Christian  conception  of  things  may  mean 
much  more  than  a human  society  on  earth, 
but  can  never  mean  anything  less. 

5.  How  is  social  service  related  to  other 
forms  of  Christian  activity? 

In  the  complete  program  of  the  kingdom 
there  are  four  chief  items : Evangelism — win- 
ning men  unto  Jesus  Christ;  missions — making 
the  good  news  known  to  the  nations;  educa- 
tion— ^training  lives  for  the  kingdom  and  build- 
ing them  up  in  Christ-likeness ; and  social  serv- 
ice— serving  the  whole  life  of  man  and  build- 
ing a Christian  social  order. 

6.  What  is  meant  by  social  salvation  ? 

The  deliverance  of  human  society  from  dis- 
ease, poverty,  crime,  and  misery;  the  develop- 
ment and  perfection  of  the  institutions  of 
man’s  associated  life,  and  the  construction  of 
a social  order  that  is  the  city  of  God  on  earth. 

7.  What  are  the  chief  items  in  the  social 
service  program? 

The  relief  of  need  and  distress,  the  preven- 
tion of  poverty  and  crime,  the  provision  for  all 
of  the  conditions  of  a clean,  healthy,  moral 
and  spiritual  life,  the  creation  of  a social  at- 
mosphere which  shall  induce  a right  course  of 
conduct,  the  adjustment  of  men’s  relations  in 
justice  and  brotherhood. 


8.  Why  should  Christians  be  most  active 
in  social  service? 

For  the  reason  that  social  service  works  in 
line  with  the  Lord’s  Prayer,  in  that  it  seeks 
to  create  such  conditions  that  every  life  can 
earn  its  daily  bread,  that  needless  temptation 
may  be  removed  from  men,  and  boys  and  girls 
may  be  delivered  from  evil. 

9.  What  are  the  methods  of  social  service  ? 

It  seeks  to  relieve  distress  and  need  in  such 

ways  as  to  help  men  most  effectually;  it  also 
seeks  to  discover  the  causes  and  conditions  of 
poverty,  sickness,  crime,  and  misery,  and  then 
to  remove  bad  causes  and  conditions  and  create 
good  causes  and  conditions;  it  believes  that 
the  church,  the  family,  the  school,  the  state 
are  all  means  and  agencies  through  which 
these  ends  may  be  sought. 

10.  Does  social  service  seek  to  create  an- 
other organization? 

It  seeks  rather  to  aid  the  agencies  of  human 
uplift  that  now  exist,  to  infuse  into  them  the 
religious  spirit,  to  co-operate  with  them  in 
every  way,  and  to  use  them  as  channels 
through  which  the  efforts  of  Christian  peo- 
ple may  become  effective. 

11.  What  can  one  person  do  who  is  inter- 
ested in  social  service? 

He  can  study  social  conditions,  help  other 
people  to  see  things  as  he  sees  them,  seek  to 
unite  men  in  behalf  of  practical  measures,  join 


with  those  who  are  engaged  in  some  form  of 
helpful  service,  and  be  an  active  and  intel- 
ligent citizen  in  his  own  community. 

12.  What  can  a pastor  do  to  promote  social 
service  among  his  people? 

He  can  be  a careful  student  of  social  ques- 
tions in  the  light  of  the  Scriptures;  he  can 
teach  and  illustrate  the  doctrine  and  example 
of  the  Master,  and  he  can  arouse  and  organ- 
ize his  people  in  behalf  of  social  service,  and 
he  can  take  a sympathetic  interest  in  the  vari- 
ous uplifting  agencies  of  the  community. 

13.  What  can  a church  do  in  behalf  of  so- 
cial betterment? 

It  can  have  one  or  more  classes  engaged  in 
social-service  study;  it  can  have  committees 
studying  the  various  agencies  of  social  uplift 
in  the  community;  it  can  have  a positive  and 
constructive  program  and  can  organize  their 
efforts  for  effective  work. 

14.  What  can  be  done  in  a united  way  in 
behalf  of  community  betterment? 

Have  a Federation  of  the  Churches,  which 
shall  secure  unity  of  purpose  and  mass  the 
conscience  of  the  people  at  any  one  point. 
The  Federation  should  have  a Committee  on 
Conciliation  and  Arbitration  for  industrial  dis- 
putes ; it  should  support  all  righteous  and  faith- 
ful officials;  it  should  voice  the  conviction  of 
the  men  of  good  will  in  the  community.  Every 
community  should  thus  have  in  some  visible 


form  not  only  churches,  but  a united  church 
of  Christ  in  common  service. 

15.  Name  several  immediate  and  practical 
things  that  can  be  done. 

Secure  for  every  worker  one  day’s  rest  in 
seven ; have  a censorship  committee  of  all  mov- 
ing-picture and  other  shows;  equip  a play- 
ground within  half  a mile  of  every  home  in 
the  city;  make  efficient  the  agencies  seeking 
to  suppress  gambling,  the  social  evil,  alcohol, 
and  all  habit-forming  drugs;  see  that  there  is 
a good  child-labor  law  and  that  it  is  enforced ; 
have  regular  inspection  of  tenements  and 
rooming  houses;  support  the  Juvenile  Court; 
have  a systematic  canvass  of  the  community. 

16.  What  is  the  ultimate  purpose  of  social 
service  ? 

It  seeks  to  create  such  a social  order  in  the 
world  as  shall  realize  the  Christian  ideal  of 
human  society,  to  give  each  soul  a true  in- 
heritance in  life,  to  develop  a perfect  life  in 
a perfect  society,  and  to  make  Jesus  Christ  a 
fact  in  the  universal  life  of  the  world. 


Authorized  and  distributed  by: 

The  Baptist  Department  of  Social  Service  Brother- 
hood; Rev.  Samuel  Z.  Batten,  Secretary,  care  of  the 
American  Baptist  Publication  Society,  Philadelphia, 
Pa. 

Social  Service  Commission  of  the  Congregational 
Church ; Rev.  Henry  A.  Atkinson,  Secretary,  14 
Beacon  Street,  Boston,  Mass. 

The  Methodist  Federation  for  Social  Service;  Rev. 
Harry  F.  Ward,  Secretary,  2512  Park  Place,  Evans- 
ton, 111. 

The  Protestant  Episcopal  Joint  Commission;  Rev. 
Frank  M.  Crouch,  Field  Secretary,  The  Church  Mis- 
sions House,  281  Fourth  Avenue,  New  York. 

The  Federal  Council  Commission;  Rev.  Charles  S. 
Macfarland,  Secretary,  who  also  represents  in  the 
Secretarial  Council  the  other  co-operating  denomina- 
tions in  the  Federal  Council. 

Readers  should  also  become  intimately  familiar 
with  the  publications  qf  their  own  denominational 
social  service  agencies  and  of  the  Federal  Council, 
which  may  be  obtained  through  the  above-named 
members  of  the  Secretarial  Council. 

Bibliographies  and  Reading  Courses  will  be  sup- 
plied on  application  to  the  above  representatives. 


Lire 


